The Bug House Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 ..well, it seems that way anyhow. Every winter someone loses a barn to snow load around here but this season it seems a lot more evident. Seems strange to me because we haven't had much wet heavy snow at all. 3 local farmers have lost barns within the last 2 weeks near here, and many more across New England. Monday night we provided mutual aid out to a farm that lost its main cow barn, 40 milk cows trapped, 4 of which were killed. Another farmer lost a big barn that was just 2 years old, losing 2 cows. We had a structural engineer on site the other night, he suggested that the wind is moving the snow around so much, it's causing uneven loads to settle on the roofs and eventually bringing them down. These guys have it bad enough, this is the last thing they need! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 Too bad the farmers are loosing their structures and livestock. That is a shame. Suppose Al Gore's global warming continues.:wacko: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeramie Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 Big problem here too. We almost broke our seasonal snowfall in two days last week. We are not covered up again with another massive snowfall. Buildings are coming down here too. Bad stuff.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebeilgard Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 i've seen some here, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flintlock1776 Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 WE lost a building here too. I'll get a photo of it and post it when I can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHISKEYSWAMP Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 Most agricultural buildings do not require building permits or need to be certified by an engineer, at least around here they don’t. Therefore anyone can buy components and throw up a building without regards to local snow load requirements. In addition, even if they are following code, agricultural buildings allow more reductions of the roof snow load compared to commercial buildings as they are grouped in low hazard occupancy according to the building code. Also, exposure can play a big part of snow collecting on a roof. If the area is sheltered by trees or in an area that restricts wind from blowing the snow off the roof, this has to be accounted for in design as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chester Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 Hate to hear about the barns. There is a building supply store here in town that had its roof collapse two weeks ago due to all of the snow that we had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeramie Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 Most agricultural buildings do not require building permits or need to be certified by an engineer, at least around here they don’t. Therefore anyone can buy components and throw up a building without regards to local snow load requirements. In addition, even if they are following code, agricultural buildings allow more reductions of the roof snow load compared to commercial buildings as they are grouped in low hazard occupancy according to the building code. Also, exposure can play a big part of snow collecting on a roof. If the area is sheltered by trees or in an area that restricts wind from blowing the snow off the roof, this has to be accounted for in design as well. In Oklahoma only certain towns/ cities require a PE (professional engineer) stamp. Anywhere outside those areas, such as Tulsa, you can build whatever you want with no requirements. I designed Pre-Engineered metal buildings and worked commercial construction for over 11 years and still do a lot on the side. Our standard loads here in Okieland are 20/20/80 (20lb live, 20lb snow, and 80mph wind loads). On occasion there would be an additional 5-7lb Collateral load added to the design for Hanging lights, finished ceilings, fire systems, etc. but that is mainly for Office buildings, homes, and the like. On large buildings like manufacturing facilities, barns, arenas, and even shop buildings you can use what is called a Reduced load because of the typical lack of snow we have. In that case the load changes to 20/15/80 and occasionally 20/10/80. On small buildings it makes relative little difference. However on large clear-span buildings (as listed above) it makes a BIG difference and takes a lot of strength out of the frame lines and purlins (roof structure). I'm betting its those cases that we see caving in like crazy. The smaller buildings are already WAY overbuilt so they are still standing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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